If you happen to love any of the above alternative approaches, or are doing it as part of your healthy lifestyle, you can continue to do so. Remember they complement, and not necessarily replace traditional approaches and medications that your doctor suggests. You might see only a modest reduction in your blood pressure, but you know what...it is probably not going to hurt either!

There are many popular medical myths about high blood pressure. For example, many physicians believe that high blood pressure is an “inevitable consequence of aging;” that the “only viable treatment option for high blood pressure patients is medication”; that high blood pressure patients must take their medications “for the rest of their lives”; and, worst of all, that high blood pressure medications are “safe and effective.”

It goes without saying that when you don’t sleep well, you don’t feel well, and your body just doesn’t work well. In fact, research has shown for decades that a strong link between insomnia and hypertension exists. Reevaluating your daytime decisions or nighttime routines leading up to bedtime can help you find what works best for you in getting a good night’s rest.
When your heart beats, it squeezes blood into the arteries and creates pressure. The systolic pressure or top number, represents the heart’s force of moving the blood into those arteries. Between beats, the heart is at rest while it refills with blood. The diastolic pressure, or bottom number, measures the pressure in the arteries while the heart is resting.
No-one seems to have written for a while, but I wanted to say how friendly everyone seems. I will join you in trying the honey in lemon and see if it works. I have read that beet juice helps lower BP. Has anyone here tried it? The prescription BP meds have ruined my shoulder and thigh muscles and I want to come them once the natural remedies kick in. Thank you to everyone for your helpful advice.
Developed thousands of years ago in India, Ayurveda is the sister philosophy of yoga, the medication form of it. The therapies and treatments work after the identification of an individual’s Dosha- Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Dosha imbalance is the foremost reason for any health issues and hypertension is the result of the imbalance of the two doshas- Vata and Pitta.

4. Limit your salt usage. A sudden jump in blood pressure may be a sign of salt-sensitive hypertension. Overall, about half of Americans with high blood pressure are sodium sensitive; it's particularly common in African-Americans and those over age 65. Cutting the salt in your diet can result in anything from a small to a dramatic improvement in high blood pressure, depending on your level of salt sensitivity.

Take multiple readings and record the results. Each time you measure, take two or three readings one minute apart and record the results using a printable (PDF) or online tracker. If your monitor has built-in memory to store your readings, take it with you to your appointments. Some monitors may also allow you to upload your readings to a secure website after you register your profile.

Elevating your feet will not lower blood pressure and will actually increase the blood pressure reading when your feet are higher than your heart. On the other hand, if you are doing activities to relieve stress such as yoga (which often elevates your legs, such as legs-up-the-wall pose), then over the long run, these stress reducing activities may help to decrease your blood pressure (but it is not the act of elevating the legs that is lowering the blood pressure it is the stress relieving activity).

4. Find an exercise that works for you (and do it). Moving more can help reverse high blood pressure. One meta-analysis of 65 studies found regular exercise provides both an acute and longer-term reduction in blood pressure. Whether you’re an exercise novice or a conditioned athlete, these four strategies can help you create an effective workout plan to optimize health.
Meditate or take slow, steady deep breaths to calm the nervous system, relax and your dilate blood vessels. Breathing exercises help calm your sympathetic nervous system and your fight-or-flight response. This technique also encourages blood flow to your body’s tissues and causes your diaphragm to move up and down, which eases blood flow to your heart.
Eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products (such as the DASH diet) while cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol can significantly lower your blood pressure. One way to stick to a healthy diet is to write down everything you eat. Keeping a diary for even just a week can make people aware of their true eating habits.
The reasons for this astonishing success are not yet entirely understood. Certainly, two of the major causes of high blood pressure are being addressed: excessive dietary salt is completely eliminated, and it is likely that some patients experience some reversal of the atherosclerosis process. However, Dr. Campbell has suggested that additional mechanisms may be partly responsible for fasting’s remarkable effects, such as the rapid reduction of a phenomenon known as “insulin resistance.”

“This does not mean I want them exercising so hard that they pass out, but I want them to be challenged, even if it means taking a break if they have to,” he said. “For some people, that may mean nothing more than a gentle walk with periodic breaks, but as the weeks go on they need to challenge themselves to get rid of those breaks, little by little.”

I use a wrist cuff to measure my BP. I am consistently ( I mean every time) able to lower my BP by approximately twenty points, both values, from the initial reading. I do it with controlled breathing. I inhale deeply and hold it until it just begins to become uncomfortable, exhale slowly, and hold the exhale, until it becomes slightly uncomfortable, and then inhale slowly again, and hold it, repeating the process at least 3 times. Not only is the BP down, but the sensation is that of being physiologically calmer.
There are many good options when it comes to such medication. Examples are ACE (angiotensin-converting-enzyme) inhibitors or AII-blockers (angiotensin II receptor blockers) such as Enalapril or Losartan. If this kind of medication doesn’t give the desired effect, you might have to add other medication such as so-called calcium antagonists (e.g. Felodipin) or a mild diuretic (can be found as a combined pill with Enalapril and Losartan).